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Whispers of dissent in Kremlin-ruled Crimea

A Russian military officer carries a Ukrainian flag as members of pro-Russian self-defence units attempt to take over a Ukrainian fleet air base in the Crimean village of Novofyodorovka, March 22, 2014.

Mar 23, 2014

SIMFEROPOL - In the dark of night in Crimea, Anastasiya steps into a pool of yellowish light from a street lamp.

The weary 30-year-old with mousy blonde hair looks furtively side to side and her voice falls to a whisper at the sounds of passersby.

"There is not going to be any democracy here. Not with Putin in charge," said Anastasiya, who lives in a housing block on the scrappy western outskirts of Simferopol -- the main city on the Kremlin-ruled peninsula.

"I want to leave but I can't sell my flat. What am I going to do? I just don't have the money," the mother of two said in an interview with AFP.

Ukraine's government estimates there are 25,000 people in Crimea like Anastasiya who want to flee the region after its Russian takeover.

Some of them are already leaving, moving in with friends and relatives in other parts of the country.

The government has set up special hotlines for people fleeing to find jobs and receive pensions, although the practicalities of uprooting and moving to a new city can be daunting.

Before a March 16 disputed referendum on breaking off from Ukraine and joining Russia, there were a few isolated pro-unity rallies in Crimea.

Since then, however, that kind of public dissent has disappeared as Russian troops and pro-Moscow militiamen have tightened their grip.

Anastasiya has never been political.

Ukrainian is just her native language and she just does not like the idea of waking up with a new nationality.

The Black Sea peninsula's two million inhabitants have been told that in less than a month they will automatically all be Russian citizens unless they make a special request to retain Ukrainian nationality.

"I don't want a Russian passport, I want to keep my Ukrainian one! But I'm scared what will happen if I ask for the exemption," Anastasiya said.

She said she and her friends "don't speak Ukrainian in public any more".

"Living here has become frightening. They say we're all radicals".

Ukraine crisis

Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, shows a letter to the U.N. Security Council in New York purportedly from ousted Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovich to Vladimir Putin asking the Russian leader for military intervention in Ukraine in this still image from UNTV video March 3, 2014.

An activist of the "Other Russia" opposition party burns a crossed-out portrait of Stepan Bandera, the leader of the Ukrainian nationalists in the 1940s, during a rally in support of ethnic Russians in the Crimea and Eastern Ukraine in St. Petersburg, on March 3, 2014.

Activists burn a picture of late Ukrainian nationalist movement leader Stepan Bandera, during a rally to support the possible military incursions of the Russian army onto the territory of Crimea to defend Russian citizens and speakers living in Ukraine, near the consulate of Ukraine in St. Petersburg, March 3, 2014.

Activists hold a rally to support the possible military incursions of the Russian army onto the territory of Crimea to defend Russian citizens and speakers living in Ukraine, near the consulate of Ukraine in St. Petersburg, March 3, 2014.

Newly appointed Ukrainian commander of the Black Sea Fleet Sergey Gayduk speaks in front of the Headquarters of the Ukrainian Navy near Sevastopol on March 3, 2014, as it was being blocked by unidentified armed men.

Activists hold a rally to support the possible military incursions of the Russian army onto the territory of Crimea to defend Russian citizens and speakers living in Ukraine, near the consulate of Ukraine in St. Petersburg, March 3, 2014.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C), Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) and head of the Russian army's main department of combat preparation Ivan Buvaltsev watch military exercises at the Kirillovsky firing ground in the Leningrad region, March 3, 2014.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (front C) and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (front L) walk to watch military exercises upon his arrival at the Kirillovsky firing ground in the Leningrad region, on March 3, 2014.

A small group of activists hold posters reading "we want peace" and featuring Russian President Vladimir Putin as German nazi dictator Adolf Hitler during a protest in front of the Hofburg castle, hosting the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on March 3, 2014 in Vienna.